NYE primrose hill

it's a little tradition to see the year in from primrose hill whenever in london. granted we've been out of town more than in, but having almost missed the fireworks last year, was extra careful to leave early this year. wasn't disappointed, although it seemed more crowded than i remembered, and the increased police presence was reassuring yet scary at the same time. i tried to stay away from drunken revelers and hold my breath every time secondhand weed floated by, but hey, only so much one can do. had a tiny bottle of champers and proper flutes because we're grown up like that ;) and then posted a photo on fb where i look esotropic, as my dear brother kindly pointed out. 

love seeing the fireworks across the thames, and it was a great time of reflection and realisation. things were so different a year ago, and i'm excited for 2017.

regent's park

was lucky to spend the night near regent's park and thought to make the most of this handy location in the morning. can't tell if it's age (please, no!) but am waking earlier and finding i've more energy than i know what to do with. anxiety, much? so going for a walk is one way to calm down. london can be icky and smoggy, no love lost and defo not enamoured by the city. the moment i step out at warren street it's this crazy onslaught of people and traffic and i just want to run back to the safe confines of my 'hood. the park was a welcome respite for the busy city and while overcast, was just my kind of weather. give me rain over sunshine, anytime!

peeked at the camels in the london zoo! 

couldn't pass on a visit to primrose hill, my all-time favourite spot in that neck of the woods. have so many happy memories there with so many different friends that it does meld into one big joyous moment whenever i'm back.

the magnolias were just past their prime and i was reminded of when i was at the royal*marsden early last year and they just lined the streets as i walked home. 

have a soft spot for tap coffee. the mister and i used to tag team at the soho branch. one got coffee, the other had a haircut then we'd swap. there was a miscommunication and the girls very kindly gave me an extra slice of banana bread. didn't need to be asked twice!

2016, let's gooO!

it's no secret that primrose hill is my happy place. am a one trick pony and it's my default 'things to do' suggestion when friends are in town. instead of squeezing into a stinky hipster coffee place, i suggest we take a walk to and up primrose hill if the weather is good. best views of london and have spent many happy hours there this year. so it was only fitting to spend NYE there too with the hordes of other revelers. just like 2012/13 (see, one trick pony!) was sandwiched between schoolgirls and rastafarians, second-hand smoke of the green sort aplenty. was also late (typical!) and ended up sprinting up the hill in wellies as the crowd counted down and fireworks went off. thank goodness that went on for awhile so i caught most of it when sufficiently elevated. at my height, every little counts and wouldn't have been able to see any of it otherwise! 

did a little 2015 review in the previous post so will spare you the self-indulgent reflection. in a way, 2015 was really hard and i'm so glad it's over. not quite good riddance but you get the picture. was recounting the year and it had more lows than highs, and the uncertainty about the future really got to be. there are definitely moments i'm not proud of, and moments i wish to never repeat. but that's life, isn't it. i'm hopeful for 2016, cautiously optimistic about a year that will see five years of hard graft come to fruition, to close one chapter and begin the next. since we got married in 2012 (yay, acquired a spouse and a house!), the years that followed have been a relatively happy continuum but i'm itchy for some action. growth is painful, and being stretched then stretched some more - even more so! but through it all i know Who holds my future, and who holds my hand.

onwards and upwards! here's wishing you a bigger, better and brighter 2016.

providore

it's more famous for its coffee? or so i was told when we went by ages ago in the afternoon for a cuppa. was a little apprehensive about brunch as it seemed too hipster a menu for my liking. recommendation from one of the mister's londoner friends (haha funny how i refuse to identify as such!) but thought to go with an open mind because i'm really at risk of becoming a boring old stick in the mud. had hard-to-please guests with us so i was a little nervous that they'd not like it. also because they'd expressly expressed a preference for sunday roast but the mister and i were being unobliging. there's only so much bossiness one can take, you know? thankful the mister had the foresight to book because the place was packed and we smugly made our way upstairs to the section with tablecloths. said guests have a way of checking their brains at the door and asking me to order for them, not that i mind because my inner control freak not-so-secretly loves being given free rein. so i ordered what i thought they'd like, and they did. the turkish eggs were yummy, as was the chorizo hash (?) mash? can't remember. photographed well, if i may say so myself. pretty efficient service, clearly wanting to turn the tables over and there was a long queue so not the most relaxing of meals but hey.

already at marylebone, we worked off brunch (haha, who are we kidding) by walking to primrose hill. did take forever with guests stopping at every shop along marylebone high street and believe you me there were plenty. then may have been some stamping of feet and gnashing of teeth but we did make it up the hill, unlike the grand old duke of york, and rewarded ourselves with crepes and coffee at the bottom.

boatride along the thames

lived in london for almost four years and had yet to take a boatride down the thames. had friends in town a couple of summers ago and we had dinner on a boat on the thames but it was stationery, and a bit of a scam if you ask me. but they'd a young son and i'd no clue what to do with children and taking him onto a boat seemed like a fun-ish thing to do. pity about the food! so i was skeptical when C, my fellow abandoned wife, invited me to gatecrash a bschool boat party. but it was an enjoyable evening on the water despite my initial apprehension and the bbq-ed dinner was surprisingly tasty! had no expectations, really, so gimme salmon kebabs and salad (and lots of garlic bread) and i'm one happy camper.

ever the one trick pony, linked up with C at primrose hill (and bumped into the talented ivan tan who took our wedding photos and i hadn't seen since!) then moseyed over to embankment to board the boat after we went in search of pubs at primrose hill to use the facilities of. looking for a loo is the story of my life.

london was so pretty from the water, and the weather cooperated. went quite a distance, past canary wharf and then on to greenwich and the stadium before turning back. as it got dark, the boat became a dance party (ugh) and i tried to blend into the woodwork, but not before inadvertently nicking a nice boy's drink coupon. oops.

R in town!

R's one of my dearest friends, quite notably one of three friends i'd at iceland wedding. she's accomplished so much in the same time i've had on this planet that she puts me to shame. we're in constant imessage contact and low maintenance as far as regular electronic check-ins go. when i've a problem, she's quick to offer sensible solutions, troubleshoot and sense-check at the same time. so you can imagine just how excited i am that she's done with HBS and on the way to mega career stardom. love catching friends during transitions, where the future is slowly coming into focus and yet on the verge giddy with delicious anticipation of the next stage. it's such a special time and i'm flattered she chose to spend some of the precious postgrad holiday with me. absolutely delighted to have had her in london for a few days and we did the non-touristy things, because she's familiar with the city having done her first degree in a small town just north-west of the capital.

ever grateful that she took me to congee in NYC when i was there last summer and starved of chinese food and felt compelled to satiate her dimsum craving in london. we're such creatures of habit, after the wedding her mama treated us to dimsum at the same place :) then we went for a long walk, she hustled us into a cheeky loo break at edgeware road (i was too shy to use the facilities without eating there but she charmed the waiter's socks off and got us in!) before riding the double decker home via my favourite thai in london. 

regents park

primrose hill

closing down sale complete with comp-ed bubbles!

too soon?

regents canal (photo credits to R)

sunday stroll

had a lazy sunday morning in and by the time afternoon rolled round it felt like i'd cabin fever. must've been super keen and sprung awake bright and early, because when i exhaust all delaying tactics and still have oodles of time stretching out in front of me, i know i woke too soon. but it was a lovely afternoon for a stroll and was a little ambitious, figuring a walk to primrose hill would be a good idea. but remember what i was saying about delaying tactics earlier? doesn't help having the attention span of a gnat, and having to deal with a minefield of distractions en route, albeit distractions of the fun sort. like the natural history museum! despite living a stone's throw away, i haven't been since i was in london as a child. so you can imagine my delight to be back, wondered why had never done it sooner! 

and after moseying through the exhibits, i got thirsty and stopped for a few coffees. as london is so small, bumped into friends in the 'hood too and got carried away chatting, probably holding them up from their weekly shop, then kept heading north. there was a tempting deli along the way so i almost stopped for pastrami but exercised some self-restraint. and the roast dinner reward at primrose hill (left home after lunch, made it to primrose hill in time for dinner, in fact only a 90min stroll had i been more disciplined) was all the more well-deserved :)

more primrose

during easter break, had the pleasure of catching up with a few friends who all happened to be passing through london within a few days of each other. which meant repeated trips to primrose hill because the weather was great and i'm a one trick pony. often find i eat too much when i've friends in town because all we seem to do is feast to bursting point. not great. so this time round i tried a different approach - asking friends to join me on whatever i was going to do that day, be it a light lunch or walk around a park. again, no agenda, just wandering for the hours we have and i much preferred it to sitting at a coffee place and being idle while there was so much to see beyond its four walls. not a huge fan of the outdoors (sun, wind etc) but even i have fallen in love with this little hill and her environs.

and regents park in her spring glory was a feast for the senses.

after walking a friend back to her hotel, swung by this adorable speakeasy in mayfair for a cheeky monday drink. there was no occasion and we weren't celebrating anything, but sometimes no reason is reason enough :)

primrose hill

had an old friend in town and got to spend a bonus two days with her. initially thought we only overlapped in london one afternoon and was resigned to a flying, alcohol-fuelled catch-up at charlotte hotel but heyy, the stars aligned and we went into extra time later that week. which was a lovely surprise. love it when life works out that way, gifting us oodles of time with no agenda. i like when days stretch indeterminably in comfortable companionship. met centrally once she got back to london, didn't mind the thirty minute wait and had a late lunch in soho, followed by a stroll down tott court looking at furniture before moseying to primrose hill for more wandering around and up. the weather was perfect and we had no where else to be till dinner time but even that was at our time. felt like being on holiday (granted, we both were!) but when life's so fast and go go, it was a welcomed break from scheduling people into time slots and just being able to hang without watching the clock was sheer delight. 

hadn't realised the last time we'd met was at my wedding almost three (!!!) years ago, and the last time we'd a sit down catch up was four years ago, soon after the mister proposed. yet it's like no time had passed and we quickly cut through the logistics (what the mister and i term humdrum what're you doing now what're you doing next where're you going) before diving into deep meaningful conversation. it's surreal how we've been friends for over 20 years and now with spouses and houses, life's moved along. there's so much to talk about, so much to explore and i'm grateful for someone i can be honest and vulnerable around. so much of life is about being authentic, about asking for help, about admitting we're unsure and still figuring things out.